But a spokeswoman for the programme denied stopping viewers voting for Luke through fear of losing ratings.

She said “For administrative reasons, this week’s ‘Big Brother’ eviction vote closed a day early.

“All vote details were listed on www.channel4.com/bigbrother.”

Chat room s are rife with speculation about the unusual decision.

One post said: “Are Channel 4 working out a way to save their golden child? If Luke stays tonight then we can all shout ‘fix’ and know we are right in doing so.

“Can they really cope with another vote scam?”

Another fan complained “It’s simple. BB doesn’t want to get rid of one of their favourites. They give us just 24 hours to vote in the hope that we won’t bother until Friday – when of course it’s far too late.”

The second favourite to go is bully Rex at fluctuating odds of around 7/1.